Gear drive for combined washer and centrifugal drier



March 15, 193s. P EGELHOF- 2,111,143

GEAR DRIVE FOR COMBINED WASHER AND CENTRIFUGAL DRIER Filed Sept. 30, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 R WITNESS 0&7 30

Mulch 15, 1938. P, E, GELDHOF 2,111,143

GEAR DRIVE FOR COMBINED WASHER AND CENTRIFUGAL/ DRIERv Filed Sept. 50, 1955' 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IHVEHTDR ATTURNEY Patented Mu. 1s, y193e PATENT oFFici-:fi

DRIVE COMBINED WASHER AND s CENTRIFUGAL DRIE!! Peter Eduard Geldhof, Syracuse, N. Y., assigner.

to Easy Washing Machine Corporation, Syraeuse, N. Y., -a corporation of Delaware Application seprnber 3o, issaseriai No. 42,779

` Claims.

My invention relates to washing machines and, more particularly, to a novel driving mechanism for both the agitator and the centrifugal drier of a Washing machine.

An object of my invention isto provide a novel drive mechanism for a washing machine which is economicalu to'build and bywhich the agitator of the washing vmachine maybe oscillated and the centrifugal drier vmay be rotated from the same source of power. I

A further object o fmy invention is to provide a drive mechanism for the agitator and the centrifugal drier of a combined washing and drying machine in which the segment gear for oscillating the agitator is connected to the driving mechanism through an eccentric disk and pitman, whereby the pitman may be Arigidly sup- Figure 2 is a view'taken on the line 2.-`2 of 'Figure 1.` v

Figure 3 is a view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view taken on the line=44 of Figure 5. Figure 5 is a View taken on the line 5--5 of `Figure 2.

Figure l( is a view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5. l

Figure 'I is a view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure '1. i

Figure 9 is a view taken on the line: 9--9 ofl Figure?. Y i I Figure 10 is a view taken o'n the ,line I Il-III of Figure 2. f

for both the washer and drier, whereby either the washerl or drier may be disconnected from the driving mechanism.)`

Other objects and advantages of ymy invention willbe more apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is .a view, partly in section, showing they agitator and centrifugal drier mounted in operative positionjand showing the driving mech anism therefor.

The driving mechanism constituting part of my invention is adapted to ;be mountedin a housing or casing II having an upper portion I2 and lower portion I3, which are secured together by suitable studs. .The casing II is suspended beneath vats I4 and I6 constituting, respectively, the washer vat and the drier vat. A

(Cl. 'I4-81) f suitable top support I5 extending around the top of both vats for receiving'covers 211 for the vats is provided. 'Ihe vats are. supported by legs I1, preferably three in number, only two'of which are partly shown.I An apron I8 is secured to the bottom of the vats `and extends downwardly over and partially encloses the casing II. .An agitator I9 of any suitable design is mounted inthe washer Vat I4 and is adapted to be oscillated by means of a shaft 2| to which it is secured. The shaft 2i projects downwardlyl below the bottom of the vat and into lthe casing II where it is journaled in, a boss and provided with a ball thrust bearing` 25. A sleeve 22 surrounding' the agitator shaft serves to support the shaft and,

when suitable packing is used, to preventJleakage l of'cleansing fiuid around the shaft. The bottom of the sleeve is threaded into a bracket 231which may be formed integral with thetop half of the casing.

A clothes drier, generally indicated by the numeral 24, is mounted inthe drier vat. I6 and is adapted to be rotated by a shaft 26 to which it is secured. `A sleeve 21 surrounds the shaft 26' so as to support `the shaft and is provided with suitable packing to prevent leakage vof fluid out of the drierwat. 'The bottom of the sleeve is threaded into a rbracket 26 which may be formed integral with the casing. The shaft 26 projects downwardly into the casing and is journaled in a boss'in the bottom thereof and vis provided with. a ball thrust bearing 30.

The mechanism for driving the agitator shaft 2| and the'drier shaft "26 comprises, as shown more clearly` in Figure `2, amotor 29 secured in any suitable manner to the casing. The motor shaft 3| projects outwardly from the motor casing and is coupled to a shaft 32l by means of a coupling of anysuitable type, indicated by the numeral 33.v I'he shaft 32 has mounted thereon a pulley 34 which by means of a belt 36 drives la, pulley 31. "I'he pulley 31 drives a pump 38, not necessary to describe in detail. The pump is securedto the casing by a bracket 39. and is used to pump cleansing fluid fromthe washer vat or to pump the cleansing uid extracted from the clothes from the drier vat back into theV washer vat or into an external vessel. The shaft 32 projects into the casing II and hasta suitable bearing support 4I. --I'he shaftk 32 also has a bearing 43 at the opposite endand an intermediate bearing 44. Mounted on the shaft 32 or preferably formed integral therewith, is a worm gear 46 which drives a worm wheel 41. Also mounted on the shaft 82 is a spiral gear 48 which drives a drier gear 49 ilxed to shaft 28.

'I'he worm wheel 41, as shown more clearly in Figure 1, is mounted loosely on a shaft I which is rigidly tted into bosses 52 and 53 formed respectively in the bottom and top halves of the casing. The worm wheel 41 has integrally formed on the-top face thereof, an eccentric disk 54. A pitman 56 having an enlarged head integral therewith forming an annular strap 55 is fitted over the eccentric disk and is rotatable with respect thereto. The opposite end ofthe pitman 56 is fixed to a stud 51 pivoted in a segment gear 68. The segment gear is pivoted on a pin 59 projecting upwardly from the bottom wall of the casing II and is in mesh with an agitator drive pinion 6| which is mounted loosely on the agitator drive shaft 2|, The shaft 2| is provided with a pin 62 extending through the shaft, the projecting ends of which are beveled to form at surfaces extending upwardly at an acute angle to each other, as indicated in the drawings. The agitator drive pinion 6| `has a projecting hub 63 provided with slots 64 adapted to cooperate with the fiat surfaces of the pin 62 so that when the slots 64 are in engagementv with the ends of the pin, the shaft 2| may be oscillated by'means of the segment gear 58.

Means are provided for raising the agitator ydrive pinion 6| a distance sufficient to disengage the slots 64 from the ends of the pin 62 so that although the gear is rotated by the segment gear and retained in engagement therewith, it does not drive the agitator shaft. As shown more clearly 'in Figure 8, the gear 6| is raised by means of a bifurcated clutch shifting plate 66, the bifurcated ends of which engage in a groove 61 formed -at thetop of the gear 6|.

A clutch rod 68, extending through an opening in a boss 69 formed in the top of the casing II, is secured to the end of the clutch shifting plate 66 and is normally urged downward by a spring 1| so as to bring the slots 64 and the ends of pin 62 constituting the clutch elements in engagement. The end of the clutch rod 68 has a longitudinally extending slot 12 for receiving a clutch lever 13 operatively connected to the clutch rod 68 by a pin 14 extending through the end of the clutch-rod. The end of the clutch lever is slotted at 16 to receive the pin 14, thus providing a lost motion connection between the clutch lever and the clutch rod. The clutch lever 13 is pinned, as indicated at 11 in Figure '1, to a clutch control rod 18 which is preferably formed in two parts, as illustrated in the drawings, tofacilitate assembly. The clutch control rod is journaled in the bracket 23 and the outer end is secured to an eccentric arm 19 which is pivoted to a link 81. The link 8| is pivoted to an eccentric arm 82 and the eccentric arm 82 is rigidly secured at 83 to a rd, 84 operable by means of a suitable handle 86.

A bar s1 secured at as tofthe bracket 2s has an adjustable eye-bolt 89 secured therein for receiving one end of a spring 9| which has its opposite end secured to the other end 92 of the clutch. control rod 18. The end of the clutch control rod is bent, as indicated at 93 to form a crank arm. By meansv of spring 9|, the clutch control rod may be retained i'n positions such that the `clutch 62, 64 is'engaged or disengaged, downward-movement of the clutch rod 68 being limited by engagement of the clutch elements and upward movement being limited by the clutch lever 13 striking the bracket 23.

. drive the agitator.

- from the segment gear.

Operation of the centrifugal drier is controlled by a separate clutch mounted on the drier shaft 26, shown more clearly in Figure 5. The gear 49, driven by the spiral gear 48, is rigidly mounted on the shaft 26 and has integrally formed therewith a hub 94, the end of which is enlarged, as indicated at 96, and constitutes one clutch element 91 of a drier clutch. A second clutch element 98 is keyed to the shaft by a Woodruff key 99, enabling the clutch element 98 to be nonrotatably secured thereto but slidable along the shaft. The clutch element 98 is normally urged downwardly by means of a pressure spring I 0|.

which surrounds an enlarged hub of the clutch element 98. The upper end of the spring I0| is confined by a clutch spring retaining fiange |02. A snap ring I 03 holds the clutch spring retaining iiange in position, thel clutch spring retaining iiange being rotatable on a bearing |04. The clutch element 98 is provided with a facing |06 of any vsuitable friction clutch material.

Surroundingthe clutch element 91 and concentric therewith is a brake shoe |01 which is movable into and out of engagement with the outer circumference of the clutch surface |06. The brake shoe |91 is provided with bosses |98, more clearly shown in Figure 4, which are slidably received in vertically extending grooves |09 formed in the casing I I. A yoke I I I is in engagement with the under surface of the brake shoe and is pinned to a clutch control rod |I2. The clutch control rod I I2 is slidably supported in the casing being reciprocable therein by rack teeth ||3 which are in engagement with teeth |I4 formed on the end of a shaft II6. f An eccentric arm I|1 is pinned to the shaft II6 and has its other end pivotally secured to a link I I8. P ivoted to the other end of the link I|8 is an eccentric arm II9. The eccentric arm` ||9 is rigidly secured, as indlcatedat |2| to a rod |22. 'I'he rod |22 has a suitable operating handle |23.

When the machine is in operation, the shaft 32, the worm wheel 41, the segment gear 58, the agitator drive gear 6| and the drier drive-*gear 49 are in constant operation and the drier and washer may be operated simultaneously or separately by the engagement and disengagement of the aforementionedagitatorand drier clutches. When the-clutch lever 13 is in the position shown in Figure 8, the clutch elements 62 and 64 are held in engagement by the spring 1|4 so as to4 the clutch elements, the clutch control rod 18 is retained in position against accidental displacement by the spring 9|. When itis desired to stop the agitator, the clutch control rod is manually rotatedby means of handle 86 so that the slot 16 is moved with respect to the pin 14. When the clutch control rod has been moved far enough, it engages the end of the slot and pulls the clutch rod upwardly against the tension of the springs 1| and 9|. Further upward movement of the clutch lever 13 brings the end 92 into a position above the axis of the control rod so that thespring 9| retains the clutch elements out of engagemenathe clutch lever 13 striking the bracket 23 to limit the upward movement thereof. The agitator drive pinion is thus raised high enough to disengage the clutch elements without disengaging the agitator-drive pinion When the drier clutch is in the position shown in Figure 5, vthe drier is being Yrotated through gears 48 and .49. When it is desired to stop rotation of the centrifugal drier, the handle |23 is In this engaged position of Y Of particular importance in the driving mechl anism of my invention is that the driving mechanism is in constant operation, the pitman 56 is rigidly supported in the casing, the controls of the drier and washer are entirely independent and the washer may be controlled without disengaging the agitator drive gear 6| from the segment gear 58. It will be apparent that I have provided a novel common driving mechanism for an agitator and a centrifugal drier and that various changes and modications may be made in the form and relation of parts of the driving mechanism without departing from the spirit of v the appended claims.

loosely mounted thereon, means for driving said washer drive gear from said eccentric disk, and means for connecting and disconnecting said washer drive gear to and from said washer drive shaft.

2. In a driving mechanism for a washer and a centrifugal drier, a drive shaft, a worm gear and a second gear mounted on said shaft, a drier shaft, a drier gear in mesh with said second gear and loosely mounted on said shaft, means for connecting and disconnecting said drier gear to and from said drier shaft, a worm Wheel in mesh with said worm gear, an eccentric disk driven by said worm gear, a washer shaft unconcentric with respect to said drier shaft and having a washer drive gear loosely mountedthereon, means for driving said washer drive gear from said eccentric disk comprising a segment gear constantly in mesh with said washer drive gear, pins on said washer drive shaft and notches on said washer drive gear, and manually operated means for disengaging the notches from the pins while retaining the segment gear in mesh with the washer drive gear. l

3. In a driving mechanism for an oscillatable washing element and a centrifugal drier, a gear casing. a washer shaft projecting from said casing and a drier shaft projecting from said casing, said two shafts being unconcentric, a motor driven drive shaft projecting into said casing, a worm and a second gear in said casing mounted on said drive shaft, a drier gear in said casing loosely mounted on said drier shaft and in mesh with said second gear, a clutch in said casing for connecting and disconnecting said drier gear to and from said drier shaft, a worm wheel in mesh with said worm and having a shaft supported at both ends in said casing upon which said Worm Wheel is loosely mounted, an eccentric disk driven by said worm wheel, a washer gear in said casing loosely mounted on said washer shaft, means for driving said washer gear from said eccentric disk comprising a segment gear constantly in mesh with said washer gear, pins on said washer shaft and notches on said washer gear, and manually operable means for disengaging the notches from the pins while retaining the segment gear in mesh with the washer drive gear.

4. In a control mechanism for the agitator of a washing-machine, an agitator drive shaft having pins extending therefrom, a gear loosely mounted on said shaft and having cooperating slots adapted to engage said pins to connect said vgear to said shaft, a constantly driven rack element in mesh with said gear, means for moving said gear to disconnect said gear from said shaft comprising a control element, a spring normally urging said control element in a direction to connect said gear to said shaft, and a hand operated element having a lost motion connection between said control element and said hand operated element, and means comprising a spring for retaining said control element in either of two positions.

5. In a control mechanism for the agitator of a washing machine, an agitator drive shaft having pins extending therefrom, a pinion gear mounted loosely on said shaft and having cooperating slots adapted to engage said pins to con' nect said pinion gear to said shaft, a constantly driven rack element in mesh with said pinion gear, said rack element being in mesh with said pinion gear both when the slots are in engagement with the pins and when they are out of engagement therewith, means for moving said pinion gear to move said slots out of engagement with said pins to disconnect said pinion gear from said shaft comprising a control element, a spring normally urging said control element in a direction to connect said pinion gear to said shaft, a hand operated element having a lost motion connection between said control element and said hand operated element, and means comprising a spring for retaining said control element in either of two positions.

PETER EDUARD GELDHOF. 

